Feb. 09--Despite losing his main sponsorship a month ago, drag racer Shawn Langdon won the top-fuel event Sunday at the NHRA's season-opening Circle K Winternationals in Pomona.
Langdon, the 2013 top fuel champion, defeated Antron Brown in the finals with a run of 3.799 seconds in the 1,000-foot drag race at a top speed of 309.91 mph.
In the funny-car class, the National Hot Rod Assn.'s other elite division, reigning champion Matt Hagan defeated Ron Capps to win his second Winternationals event. Hagan's winning pass was 4.011 seconds at 320.89 mph.
Langdon's team owner, famed crew chief Alan Johnson, said Friday that Langdon was committed to racing only in Pomona and in Phoenix in two weeks, unless the team can find additional sponsors.
The team, formerly a two-car team called Al-Anabi Racing, had been funded by a prince from the ruling family of Qatar, an oil-rich nation in the Persian Gulf. But Qatar abruptly pulled its financial backing a month ago without public explanation.
In the pro stock division, two-time champion Jason Line defeated rookie Drew Skillman to win his second consecutive Winternationals and fourth overall.
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